Pape Thiaw’s Senegal will face Hossam Hassan’s Egypt in the first of Wednesday’s last-four clashes, while Eric Chelle’s Nigeria take on the hosts Morocco, who are led by long-term coach Walid Regragui.
Chelle and Regragui spent their early years in France, but the notion of having ‘European’ coaches leading national teams in Africa is something that is slowly going out of the game.
It is not gone completely, 10 of the 24 sides at the Cup of Nations in Morocco arrived with coaches from Europe, but there is a growing sense that tacticians from Africa have a better feel for the game on the continent and a deeper understanding of the players.
Of the teams to make the quarter-finals, only Tom Saintfiet (Mali) and Vladimir Petkovic (Algeria) were led by non-African coaches.
There is an argument, too, for giving Belgian Saintfiet honorary African status, having spent much of the last two decades coaching on the continent.
Here is a look at the four coaches remaining in Morocco.
Eric Chelle (Nigeria)
Born in Ivory Coast to a French father and Malian mother, Chelle was raised in France but represented the Mali national team.
A centre-back in his playing days, which were spent exclusively in France, most notably at Valenciennes and Lens, he is a relative newcomer to the African scene as a coach.
He was appointed to lead Mali in 2022 and spent two years in charge before exiting the role after losing to hosts Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals of the last Cup of Nations.
He was something of a surprise pick for Nigeria in January 2025 and failed to lead them to qualification for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but has them firing in Morocco.
At 48, he is still relatively young in his coaching career, but has the chance to do something special with the Super Eagles.
Hossam Hassan (Egypt)
A legendary striker on the continent, Hassan is a former three-time winner of the Cup of Nations as a player over a remarkable 20-year period between 1986 and 2006.
That longevity on the pitch is reflected in his 177 international caps in a career that also saw him lift the Egyptian Premier League title 13 times, having played for both bitter Cairo rivals Al Ahly and Zamalek.
His 69 goals for the national team remain an Egyptian record, though it will surely soon be broken by Mohamed Salah, who now has 67, something Hassan will hope happens in this tournament.
His coaching career to date has been less successful, but this represents a chance to change that, and having led Egypt to the World Cup this year, he can now aim to lift the continental crown too.
Known for his fiery personality, the 59-year-old has mellowed to a degree and has alongside him his twin brother Ibrahim, who serves as the technical director of the national team.
Walid Regragui (Morocco)
The coach who will forever be remembered for taking Morocco to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, Regragui can now cement his legacy with a first Cup of Nations title for the country in 50 years.
He is not universally popular, however, and has critics in Morocco who feel he does not get the best out of the talent at his disposal, though that assessment does seem harsh.
The 50-year-old was born in France and is a former right-back who enjoyed a solid career, playing 44 times for the Morocco national team between 2001 and 2009.
He was runner-up at the 2004 Cup of Nations as a player, giving him his own reasons for wanting to go one better this time around.
Apart from a brief spell in Qatar, all his coaching experience has been in Morocco, including six years spent at FUS Rabat.
He also led Wydad Casablanca to the CAF Champions League title before taking over as national team coach in August 2022, just ahead of the Qatar World Cup.
Pape Thiaw (Senegal)
The youngest and least experienced of the four coaches in the semi-finals, Thiaw has tasted continental success before after leading his country to the African Nations Championship (CHAN) title in 2022, a national team competition for home-based players.
He was born in Dakar but spent his modest playing career as a forward with clubs in France, Switzerland, Spain and Russia.
Thiaw had a brief spell with the national team, though it was a productive one, scoring five goals in 16 caps between 2001 and 2003, and was part of the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup.
He spent three years in charge of Niarry Tally in Senegal, a team owned by a biscuit company, before being asked to lead the country’s CHAN team.
He took over the reins of the senior side from the legendary Aliou Cissé in December 2024 and has guided Senegal to the World Cup later this year.
Rather than seeking a high-profile European coach, and there would have been plenty of interest given the profile of the team, Senegal opted for a local option, and it is so far paying dividends.
